John h



(No Model.)

J. H. ROBERTSON.

GAR BRAKE.

= UNITED STATES JOHN H. ROBERTSON, OE New YORK, N. Y. 1

C A R B R A K E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 384,870, dated June 191888.

Application filed December 1, 1887. Serial No. 256,622. (No modelli i To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN H. ROBERTSON, of the city and county of NewYork, in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Brakes for Railway Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a system of mechanism whereby the brakes may be applied and iheld with great power against wheels or brake-drums upon the axles.

The invention will be hereinafter particularly described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the truck of a streetcar having brakes embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional View, upon a larger scale, of a portion of one of the rodconnections leading to the brake-applying devices at the end of the car, showing the construction whereby said rod-connection is made elastic in the direction of its length; and Fig. 3 is'aplan of the truck, one of the brakeshoes being shown in section.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures.

My invention, although applicable to railwayfcars in general, is more particularly intended for use upon cable-railwayc`ars, which also comprise a grip mechanism, whereby the cars may be made fast to the moving cable.

A designates the axles of the car, on which are the supportingwheels A', and between the wheels I have represented longitudinal beams or girders B, which have at the ends boxes'b, whereby they are lttedto the axles A. Inthe present example of my invention these-beams or girders B serve to support the brake-operating mechanism. (Here shown as in duplicate upon opposite sides of the car.) I prefer to employ in carrying out my invention brakedrums C, which are independent of the supporting-wheels A', and which `are fast upon the axles between said wheels. As here represented, these drums C have their surfaces circumferentially grooved, and the brake-shoes C are correspondingly grooved.

As here represented, a cross-piece, B', is ap plied to the longitudinal beams or girders B near each end, and the opposite ends of each cross-piece B are extended upward and form hangers, from which the brake-shoes C are very great power to the drums. As the brake PATENT OFFICE. y

pivotally suspended by swinging links c, `as best shown in Fig. `1. The brakeshoes C which are on each side and at opposite ends the car, are operated bya lever, D, which isl pivoted at d in the frame B? or bridgepiece secured to the adjacent beam or girder B,an said lever D, in addition to a long andn wardly-extending arm to which a rod-conne tion, E, is attached foroperating it, has tw shorter arms, d', extendingin oppositedire tions from its `fulcrum, and which are con nected with the brakeshoes C by rods c. (Her represented as having in them turn-buckl c2, whereby their length may be varied.) ,6 As here represented, the brake-applying des` vices consist of levers F, which are fulcrumed` atf in frames or housings F at the ends of th car,and from the shorter arms of which exten the rod-connections whereby the levers D a1 operated. As here represented, the lever D which operates the brakes upon one side of th car is connected with the brake-applyingl ver F at one end of the car, and the correspo ing lever D of the brakes on theopposites of the ear is connected with a correspondin lever at the opposite end of the car.

'It will be understood that as the lever D i moved in the direction indicated by the arrow thereon in Fig. 1 the brake-shoes G in line` therewith will be pressed strongly against thei brake drums C, and as the pivotal centers be tween the said lever and the rods c' approac a line drawn between the levenfulcrum D an the point of connection of the rods c withthe` brake-shoes they exert a togglelike actio upon the brake-shoes andapply' them with shoes C become worn, provision is affordedby.. the turn-buckles cL for increasing the length of the rod-connections c', so as to applysaid shoe with greater force against the drums.` As wil p be readily understood, after the brake-apply# ing levers F have been moved to apply the brakes, they are held in the position towhich,` they are moved by stop-pawls f upon the le-` vers engaging toothed racks f2, (here shown as formed upon the top of the housings F;) but owing to the distance between the teeth g of these rack-bars, the pawls might not hold the shoes pressed with their initial pressureagainst the brake-drums if the connections were un-,` y

yielding. I therefore may employ in the rods E,for operating the levers D, a spring-actuated yielding device, which will enable such rods to slightly elongate when a strain is put upon them by operating the levers F. This device is represented best in Fig. 2, and when it is -used each rod for operating the leversv Dis composed of two sections, E E', the latter being tubular to receive the former within it, as clearly shown. A spring, e, bears at its ends against disks or flanges e e2, secured, respectively, to the two rod-sections E E. The disk or flange e is secured to the rodsection E by a key, e3, inserted throughsaidsection and Working in slots e4 in the rod-section E', and the disk or flange e2 may be secured to the rod-secltion E by a nut or collar, e5. It will be understood that whena pull is'exerted upon the rod E E the spring will be compressed, and consequently that the brake-shoe will always be held tightly pressed against its drum by the action of the spring e. Although I have here represented slices C as arranged to operate upon the independent brake-drums O, they may operate upon the supporting-Wheels A', as ordinarily, and to provide for this I have represented in Fig. 3 by dotted lines a beam or girder, B, and the brake-applying connections applied thereto and supported in proper position to press the shoes O directly against the What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with the axles of acar and brake-shoes for acting on wheels or drums onfthe two axles'at opposite sides of the car, of levers D, fulcrumed at opposite sides of the car and each having short arms d, connected by rods c with the brake shoes at that side of the car, and brake-applying devices at opposite ends of the car connected, respectively, one to each of the levers D, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination, with a brake-shoe acting upon a Wheel or drum upon a car-axle and a lever connected with the shoe for operating it, ofa brake-applying device at the end of the car, and-a rod connecting the said brake-applying device and lever and composed of two sections, one receiving the other within it, a spiral spring, and collars bearingagainst opposite ends of the spring and fastened, respectively, to the inner and outer rod-sections, substantially as herein described.

JOHN H. ROBERTSON. Witnesses:

MINERT LINDEMAN, FREDK. HAYNEs. 

